FundRock, a leading European third-party UCITS Management Company (“ManCo”) and Alternative Investment Fund Manager (“AIFM”), today announces that FundRock FFAM, its new AIFM service in France, has received regulatory approval from the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (“AMF”), the French financial markets regulator.

The new service, which will assist international and domestic professional investors in accessing alternative asset classes including private equity and real estate, strengthens FundRock’s presence in the alternative investment market in Europe and particularly in France.

Since the initiative was announced last year, FundRock has attracted a large number of new French regulated funds. Prior to the launch of FFAM, a dedicated team within FundRock had been managing these funds from its Luxembourg entity under the Freedom to Provide Services (FPS) passport regime.

Now that authorisation has been received from the AMF, Jean Edouard Mazery, who is spearheading the new operation, will further develop the business in France with its team that has been expanded with recent hires having experience within European institutions, the financial market regulator, audit firms and financial institutions.

Jean Edouard Mazery said: “We are pleased to be officially launching our French AIFM today and offer our clients an enhanced solution in the alternatives space. Our hand-picked team’s local expertise combined with FundRock’s strong pan-European track record and Apex Group’s global capabilities create an unrivalled value proposition.”

Xavier Parain, Head of FundRock, said: “We are delighted to have received authorisation from the AMF, which allows us now to focus on growing our French business. Despite the difficulties arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, there remains significant demand from international investors looking to access French alternative asset classes, attracted by its solid economic fundamentals and a supportive legal and regulatory framework.”

FFAM is authorised by the AMF under number GP-21000009.